Marine archaeology in the Gulf of Khambhat

On May 19, 2001, India's science and technology minister Murli Manohar Joshi announced the finding of the remains of an ancient city on the seabed of the Gulf of Cambay (also known as the Gulf of Khambat), along a nine kilometer stretch off the coast of Gujarat province. Located 40 metres deep it was discovered by the National Institute of Ocean Technology in December 2000 and investigated for six months with acoustic techniques. The structures of the city were said to resemble those of major cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation, with regular geometric patterns representing a granary, a great bath and a citadel.

However some archaeologists reacted with skepticism. The institute that reported the results doesn't appear to have involved specialists in marine archaeology in the region and details were lacking. It was suggested that it could be a post-Indus city. They also pointed out that other nearby Indus settlements built on the coast were now well inland, the opposite to the geological change required to explain a sunken city. In any case the Indian technology minister is a controversial figure in archaeology.

A follow up investigation was conducted by the same institute in November 2001, which included dredging to recover artifacts. News articles report that a block of wood was recovered that was dated to 9,500 years old, which is 5000 years older than the Indus Valley Civilisation. However claims that the Indus Valley Civilisation is thus 9,500 years old are probably premature.

New underwater explorations were done in Gulf of Cambay since 2003 to 2004 and samples of pottery were sent to Oxford laboratories. The results are extraordinary, as the finding of the earliest pottery in the world from about 30000 BP. For details see a 2005 article at: http://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/BadrinaryanB1.php?p=1

References

• The Telegraph, Calcutta, India, 20 May 2001, Forgotten metropolis on seabed -- http://www.telegraphindia.com/archive/1010520/index.htm
• BBC, 22 May 2001, Indian seabed hides ancient remains -- http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1345000/1345150.stm
• The Indian Express, 22 May 2001, Experts skeptical about Govt's claims on Khambat ruins -- http://www.indian-express.com/ie20010523/nat27.html
• BBC, 16 January 2002, Indian civilisation '9,000 years old' -- http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1763000/1763950.stm
• The Indian Express, 17 January 2002, ‘Gulf of Cambay has a city older than Sumer’ -- http://www.indian-express.com/ie20020117/top6.html
• Frontline, Questionable claims, 02 - 15 March 2002, http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1905/19050670.htm
• National Institute of Ocean Technology -- http://www.niot.res.in/m3/arch/index.htm
• National Institute of Oceanography, Marine Archaeology Centre -- http://www.nio.org/projects/vora/project_vora.jsp -- descriptions of underwater findings from other locations.